foreign

Glimpses of People and Places in Monrovia, Captured Through Cinemagraphs

Monrovia is the capital of Liberia, the West African country that was founded by the United States and settled in the 1800s by mostly freed slaves (hence its name, which means "land of freedom").

When French photographer Francois Beaurain visited the city in early 2014, he spent five months wandering the streets and documenting this land that he previously knew nothing about. He then created a series of cinemagraphs -- or "moving photos" -- that offer a glimpse into what Monrovia is like.

Using Photos to Communicate While in a Foreign Country

Preparing for a trip to a foreign country where you don't know the language? If you don't have an Internet-connected phone handy, a camera can help you out. Redditor Jhojgaard regularly travels to various countries around the world, and suggests that storing some key photos on your camera can come in handy when you're in a communication crunch.

Things that are useful to store on your memory card include the names of places you need to get to and common things you might need (e.g. a certain subway station, the restroom, a taxi). If you have a smartphone with you, you can toss all of the "translation photos" into a separate album.